10 Common Poison Oak Myths

[Koda]

I've never found anything conclusive on my remark either, but one thing that IS conclusive is your more likely to find an ice cold stream between you and the car than a luke warm shower My take is to wash off as soon as possible vs waiting to get home.

[Lurch]

The biggest trick with trying to teach people about it is just getting them to recognize it! It takes so many different looks depending on the season and its size.

The big problem is that it's not one of those 'immediate' feedback sorta plants like nettles or devils club. People who're unfamiliar with it won't know they've had contact for a couple days, at which point it's a bit hard for them to make a connection to the specific plant.

[mcds]

Nice writeup Splintercat. Granted it's an approximation, I am wondering about your source for the max elevation 2000'?

Here is one of the better writeups i've seen apart from Splintercat's post:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm

[jamesthehiker]

Thank you for sharing your blog. I researched the subject a few years back to educate myself to ensure I steer clear and would have to say your write up was much more informative and helpful then most of what was out there.

What is your experience with ticks, perhaps a 10 common tick myth... I've been able to steer clear of poison oak all these years, but finally had a tick latch on to me for the first time last weekend. My dogs were not with me so their Frontline did not protect me, so I have decided to apply Frontline on my neck anytime they stay home... There you go myth number 1!

[Splintercat]

I'm afraid I'm a tick magnet, despite following all of the precautions..! I've brought home about a dozen over the past several years... and I... REALLY HATE TICKS!!!!!

-Tom

[Grannyhiker]

One common tick myth is that by applying a hot burned match head, gasoline (hopefully not both at the same time!), vaseline or various other substances to the tick that it will back out. Yes, it may back out, but first it will disgorge its stomach substances--including disease-causing bacteria--into your blood stream! It may just as easily decide to go the other way and burrow into your skin, requiring a trip to the ER for surgical removal.

I did a writeup on ticks a few years ago for the Field Guide which, with quite a few excellent additions by the editors, can be found here: http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Ticks

Any time ticks are mentioned, I start itching all over!

This whole Field Guide section is well worth perusing (even though I wrote a teeny tiny part of it):
http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... out_Hiking
While one or two have bad links (especially the one on mosquitoes), it would be good if this section got more publicity. It will answer a lot of questions! (I will report the bad links in the Field Guide section.)

Edit, June 1: RetiredJerry, bless his heart, has fixed the few bad links. Thanks, Jerry! I reviewed the entire "About Hiking" section in the Field Guide and everything looks great.

[mjirving]

One of my favorite poison oak tricks is to take a hot shower and direct the most blazing hot water you can stand at the rash. It will itch like you have never itched in your life but I believe what it's doing is drawing out all the hystemine (sp?) in one fell swoop. This causes it to dry out and relieve the itch for many hours. It's not an official remedy I've ever heard as I self-discovered it on my own and I don't know if there are other ramifications to this (do at your own risk) but it worked wonders for me.

[TJ_T]

One of my favorite poison oak tricks is to take a hot shower and direct the most blazing hot water you can stand at the rash. It will itch like you have never itched in your life but I believe what it's doing is drawing out all the hystemine (sp?) in one fell swoop. This causes it to dry out and relieve the itch for many hours. It's not an official remedy I've ever heard as I self-discovered it on my own and I don't know if there are other ramifications to this (do at your own risk) but it worked wonders for me.

Oh yeah it feels soooooo good. And I read the same thing about the histamine (thanks spell checker!). It definitely relieves it for many hours.

[Grannyhiker]

One thing I've noticed about poison oak is that it can really camouflage itself! Some of the pics in the Poison Oak section of "About Hiking" in the Field Guide http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Poison_Oak really illustrate this.

Some years back I was strolling along a nature trail in the California redwoods, across from the Visitor Center on the Avenue of the Giants, when I spotted an enormous vine, several inches thick, growing up the side of a giant redwood. No leaves were visible anywhere. It looked like the sort of vine Tarzan (anyone remember him?) would swing on through the jungle. Then I saw the interpretive sign--that vine was poison oak, and of course it put out leaves only up near the top of the redwood, where there was enough light for it.

The plant turns a beautiful red in the fall, too! I've known several people who gathered the beautiful foliage in the fall--to their sorrow!

My ex-husband, being from Europe, couldn't conceive of a plant that would cause skin reactions like poison oak. He rubbed some leaves against his hand with no effect and decided that he was immune. He was, for a while. Then he spent a weekend helping some friends in the foothills of the Coast Range clear some land (you can guess what most of the brush was). He found out the real truth about poison oak the next day! Evidently he didn't get the urushiol washed off sufficiently before bed that night, and it got on his pajamas. No matter how often I washed those pajamas, in really hot water (I even turned up the water heater) and a double dose of detergent, they always produced a rash. After several tries, I finally threw them away (something you don't want to do with perfectly good clothing when on a college student budget!). I wonder to this day whether the oils really were still in the pajamas or whether the reaction was psychological. In any case, nasty stuff!

My eldest son learned a lot about poison ivy (same active ingredient) in its dormant state while we were living in rural Pennsylvania. He spent a March afternoon out in the woods with friends who had a trap line. Evidently he came in contact with enough poison ivy stems to cause a severe reaction, with rash and swelling all over. His face swelled up to the point his eyes were almost shut, his feet swelled up so that he couldn't wear his shoes, his hands looked like footballs and he was generally miserable for a week, despite several visits to the doctor.

[TJ_T]

My ex-husband......

....I wonder to this day whether the oils really were still in the pajamas or whether the reaction was psychological.

Or.....